"These days an income is something you can't live without--or within."
- Tom Wilson
"These days an income is something you can't live without--or within."
- Tom Wilson
Member since:01.10.2002
Reviews:38
Members who trust:30
Directed by: James Wan
Cast: Leigh Whannell...........Adam Cary Elwes...................Dr. Lawrence Gordon Danny Glover...............Detective David Tapp Ken Leung...................Detective Steven Sing Monica Potter...............Alison Gordon Makenzie Vega............Diana Gordon Shawnee Smith...........Amanda Dina Meyer...................Kerry Mike Butters.................Paul Paul Gutrecht..............Mark Michael Emerson......Zep Hindle Benito Martinez...........Brett Ned Bellamy...............Jeff Alexandra Chun.........Carla Avner Garbi.................Father Tobin Bell...................John Hans Raith.................Detective
Overview: Awakening from a drugged stupor, Dr. Lawrence Gordon finds himself chained to a pipe in a dingy unused bathroom, with another man chained in the same manner across from him. The other man is Adam, a photographer, who appears to have no connection to Dr. Gordon. The only thing they have in common is the fact that they're the latest victims of the 'Jigsaw Killer'. Dr. Gordon is given 6 hours, a saw, a bullet, and the knowledge that his wife and daughter are also being held captive. Working with Adam, Dr. Gordon must work out a way to free himself and find his family before
it's too late.
My Opinion: Any film that opens in almost complete darkness and stays that way for over two minutes is nearly always the kind of film I like. This opening sequence sets the scene for the atmosphere throughout the rest of "Saw".
From the outset, Saw plunges you into the unknown, initially establishing virtually nothing. To begin with, and for a good portion of the film, we know next to nothing about the characters we are watching. We, like they, do not know where they are, except that they're chained up in a dirty bathroom, and we are given no background on the characters, or why they are in their current predicament. This does an excellent job of making sure you're paying attention from the start - arousing your curiosity does that.
Adam, played by relative newcomer Leigh Whannell (who also co-wrote the script) is the first character we're introduced to. Considering he's a little bit of a novice (though not entirely new), his acting throughout was unquestionable. Unfortunatly, the same cannot be said for Cary Elwes, who plays Dr. Gordon, who has been in the acting game since 1979, according to the omniscient one (IMDB.com). Despite some slightly questionnable acting, the script is well written, with the perfect balance of scares and tension, mixed with a pinch of confusion.
More of a thriller in many places that a bonafide horror, the tension from the outset is gripping. From the very first scene, you just know that you're in for a rollercoaster ride. It turns out that Dr. Gordon knows more about what's going on, when he reveals that he has had dealings with the 'Jigsaw Killer' previously, and he now tells Adam that he thinks it's the killer who's doing this to them.
As the film moves on beyond the bathroom we've come to know so well, we are taken for a look at what's going on outside the confines of this toileted area, and also given a little insight into our two captives, when we see how they came to be where they are now.
The film quickly catapults its audience into a disturbing look at the Jigsaw Killer's other victims, and gives us a look at his motivations. This is the part of the movie that makes every reviewer make comparisons to 'Seven', and rightly so. With motivations that are comparable to those in 'Seven', the Jigsaw Killer proves his point in the most gruesome of ways (which we are treated to), giving Saw its 18 certificate.
There are some interesting directing tricks in Saw that give it the edge. Look out for the way the action is speeded up during the torture scenes, giving it that sense of urgency it requires.
Another scene that was a personal favourite of mine was when we're seeing the last part of Adam's life before he woke up in the bathroom. He thinks there's someone in his apartment, and the electricity has gone. As a photographer, the most handy thing he has with a light to see by is his camera's flash. Here follows a tension filled scene of a person walking around his pitch-black apartment, taking pictures to make his camera flash into all the darkest corners of the rooms. Scary stuff!
The overall film was a good one, and worth seeing if only for some of the scenes mentioned above, however, it is far from the perfect horror movie I had been building it up to be before its release.
Aside from the acting issues I had with it, it did have some other unfortunate aspects. One such is the ending which, although I'm not going to go into any detail at all, for me, felt like a bit of a cop-out. It felt too much like they hadn't thought long enough about wrapping up some of the details, and somewhat spoiled a perfectly-formed film with a dodgy ending. Despite this, it's not so bad that you wish you hadn't bothered, just enough to make you think slightly less of the film you've just seen. One other thing that detracted from the film for me was having to question why Adam was in the firing line of the Jigsaw Killer in the first place. As we go through the film, it becomes apparent why the killer has chosen the others he victimises, but it's never explained what Adam has done to deserve his fate. Maybe I missed something - someone please let me know if this is the case.
In conclusion of the film itself, I'd say if you like gore, or even a good on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller, you should rent this one, then if you can forgive its less than perfect ending, you should think about buying it (if you don't mind having no extras, that is - see below).
As far as reviewing the DVD release of Saw goes - in all honesty, there's not much to review, unfortunately. Of course there's a good film on there, but if you buy your DVDs largely for the extras, you're not going to want to buy this one. The extras on the version I got (pegged as the "uncut version") extend as far as a music video for one of the featured songs, an 'unrated version' of the same video, and a 'making of' again, the same video. The one final extra, the only one that's directly related to the film itself and not it's soundtrack, is a "mini-featurette", which although fairly interesting, really is a MINI featurette, at less than 2 and a half minutes long.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Great review. I really need to check this one out, i've been meaning to see it for a while now but so far i've just not got round to it. I was going to see the second one at the cinema however having not seen the first one when it came out I decided against it. WIll definitely have to get them both on DVD at some stage. Rich xxx
blaupraust 07.12.2005 20:21
Very good review, and a great film! Sad to hear the Producer died a few days ago..
gayna1979 07.11.2005 01:23
Great review. I saw Saw at the cinema, and litterally came out shaking and scary films don't usually bother me. When it was released on DVD I was straight down the shops to buy a copy. It's a great movie, dying to see the sequel. Gayna xx
Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up in a dank room across from Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) ... more
and the body of a guy who has blown his own brains out. Not a happy place, obviously, and it gets worse when both men realize that they've been chained and pitte...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up in a dank room across from Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) ... more
and the body of a guy who has blown his own brains out. Not a happy place, obviously, and it gets worse when both men realize that they've been chained and pitte...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
How much blood would you shed to stay alive? Two men (Whannell and Elwes) wake up in the ... more
secure lair of a serial killer who's been nicknamed "Jigsaw" by the police because of his unusual calling card. Given six hours a hacksaw and a bullet the two...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Awakening from a drugged stupor, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) finds himself chained to ... more
a pipe in a dingy bathroom, with another man (Leigh Whannell) in the same situation across the room . The men are the latest victims of the Jigsaw Killer, a mani...
Advantages: A good idea, with constant twists and turns Disadvantages: The characters werent developed early enough and you end up not being bothered about them
Andy.mack 21.10.2004 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Saw (DVD)
![Saw [DVD] [2004]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78502875.jpg "Saw [DVD] [2004]")
Sep 23rd, 2005
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